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Ralph Michaels

Ralph Michaels

Hot Streaks

TOP RATED 5% TOTALS 7-0-1 (100%)!

TOP RATED 5% PLAYS ML 13-7-1 (65%)!

65.4% WINNING DAYS (17 of 26) SINCE APRIL 25!

NBA TOTALS BEST BETS (4% & 5%) ARE 18-6-1 (75%)!!

MLB YRFI/NRFI 9-4 (69.2%)!

NHL ML SIDES 6-1 (86%) & 22-11 (66.7%)!

Last updated May 21, 8:24 AM EDT

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THE WEDNESDAY WAGERTALK MLB FIRST INNING REPORT

First-Inning Report for Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

The WagerTalk First Inning Report from Ralph Michaels is your daily cheat sheet for YRFI/NRFI betting.

Full game lines and totals
Who scored in the first inning (and who gave one up)
Current streaks (3+ straight 1st inning results highlighted)
Starting pitchers listed — Lefty indicators included
* shows which teams faced a lefty

From trend chasers to prop hunters, this chart is built for quick-glance insights and actionable info.

Updated every morning with the freshest MLB data — only at WagerTalk!

 

 

PLUS…..RALPH LOADS A FREE FIRST INNING PLAY DAILY BY NOON ET M-F AND BY 11 AM ET SAT & SUN ON HIS HOME PAGE - WT.BUZZ/RM
If the free play is a % play that means that Ralph released that selection to his clients. 

THE 2025 WAGERTALK DRAFT GUIDE!

THE 2025 WAGERTALK DRAFT GUIDE!
 

While the Draft brings excitement and promise to the NFL teams and fans, I feel it is MORE important to quantify what each CFB team lost in the Draft.

A weighted grading system from 8 points to one point for each team. They are sorted by points lost and alphabetically.
There is also a conference-by-conference breakdown as well as the teams that have lost the most in the draft the last 4 years!
 

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Last 20

Date
Sport
Pick
Result
May 21
MLB
1% – (967) Texas Rangers at (968) New York Yankees 1I Total Under 0.5 (-130) J Degrom (RHP), R Yarbrough (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 21
MLB
4% – 1H Boston Red Sox -145 G Crochet (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Push
May 21
MLB
1.5% – (975) Kansas City Royals at (976) San Francisco Giants 1I Total Under 0.5 (-135) D Lynch (LHP), L Webb (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Loss
May 20
MLB
1% – (929) Kansas City Royals at (930) San Francisco Giants 1I Total Under 0.5 (-135) M Lorenzen (RHP), H Birdsong (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 20
MLB
3% – St. Louis Cardinals +1.5 (-113) E Fedde (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 19
MLB
1.5% – (951) Cincinnati Reds at (952) Pittsburgh Pirates 1I Total Under 0.5 (-125) N Lodolo (LHP), M Keller (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Loss
May 19
MLB
3% – (957) Arizona Diamondbacks at (958) Los Angeles Dodgers Total Over 9.5 (-108) B Pfaadt (RHP), L Knack (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
No Play
May 18
NBA
2% – (521) Denver Nuggets at (522) Oklahoma City Thunder 1H Total Under 109.5 (-110)
(Analysis)
Win
May 18
MLB
2% – (919) St. Louis Cardinals at (920) Kansas City Royals 1I Total Under 0.5 (-130) M Liberatore (LHP), M Wacha (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 18
MLB
3% – (927) Seattle Mariners at (928) San Diego Padres 1H Total Under 4.0 (-130) B Woo (RHP), M King (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Push
May 17
MLB
3% – (971) Minnesota Twins at (972) Milwaukee Brewers Milwaukee Brewers Total Under 3.5 (+105) P Lopez (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 17
MLB
2% – (957) Houston Astros at (958) Texas Rangers 1I Total Under 0.5 (-120) R Blanco (RHP), T Mahle (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Loss
May 16
NBA
5% – (509) Boston Celtics at (510) New York Knicks 1H Total Under 108.0 (-110)
(Analysis)
Win
May 16
MLB
3% – Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-140) J Kochanowicz (RHP), D May (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Loss
May 15
MLB
1.5% – (955) Tampa Bay Rays at (956) Toronto Blue Jays 1I Total Under 0.5 (-120) Z Littell (RHP), K Gausman (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Loss
May 14
MLB
1.5% – (909) Miami Marlins at (910) Chicago Cubs 1I Total Under 0.5 (-125) R Weathers (LHP), J Taillon (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 13
MLB
2% – (967) Kansas City Royals at (968) Houston Astros 1I Total Under 0.5 (-135) K Bubic (LHP), F Valdez (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 13
MLB
3% – New York Yankees -132 M Fried (LHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Loss
May 12
MLB
1% – (913) Kansas City Royals at (914) Houston Astros 1I Total Under 0.5 (-115) M Wacha (RHP), R Gusto (RHP) Must Start
(Analysis)
Win
May 12
MLB
3% – MLB parlay: Cubs with TExas (list all starters)
(Analysis)
Win
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Consultant Bio

Ralph was raised in the home of handicappers in Cleveland, Ohio. Starting in the industry as a key member of Phil Steele's early team, which expanded Northcoast Sports during the mid-90s. Ralph's personal following grew fast, allowing him to strike out on his own as the founder of California Sports. Over the next dozen years as General Manager of Phil Steele Publications and lead handicapper of Northcoast Sports, Ralph managed the creation of some of the most popular sports betting content ever, including Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine and Northcoast's Power Sweep Newsletter. Content displaying expertise so elite that Ralph was invited into college football's most exclusive club: Heisman Trophy Voter
Ralph Michaels has a math mind, steadily searching for a value in the numbers in addition to matchup edges, situational advantages, and hidden gems of information. Ralph finds more big bets in the college versions of football and basketball, but his handicapping approach also uncovers selective winners in the professional leagues like MLB. Small conferences are particularly profitable due to mispriced injuries and his profiling of exploitable coaching tendencies.

 

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